CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs exercised their $20 million option on Cole Hamels on Friday, solidifying their rotation for next year, and traded fellow left-hander Drew Smyly to the Texas Rangers.Hamels, who turns 35 in December, went 4-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 12 starts after he was acquired in a July 27 trade with Texas — a frequent trade partner for Chicago since Theo Epstein took over the Cubs' front office in 2011. Had the Cubs declined the option and paid a $6 million buyout, the Rangers would have paid the Cubs an additional $6 million.The 29-year-old Smyly is heading to Texas after missing his only year in Chicago as part of his recovery from Tommy John surgery in June 2017. The Cubs also parted with a player to be named in exchange for a player to be named.Smyly signed a $10 million, two-year contract with Chicago last December. He was healthy at the end of last season, but the contending Cubs ran out of time in terms of bringing him back.Chicago also claimed infielder Jack Reinheimer... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs exercised their $20 million option on Cole Hamels on Friday, solidifying their rotation for next year, and traded fellow left-hander Drew Smyly to the Texas Rangers.Hamels, who turns 35 in December, went 4-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 12 starts after he was acquired in a July 27 trade with Texas — a frequent trade partner for Chicago since Theo Epstein took over the Cubs' front office in 2011. Had the Cubs declined the option and paid a $6 million buyout, the Rangers would have paid the Cubs an additional $6 million.The 29-year-old Smyly is heading to Texas after missing his only year in Chicago as part of his recovery from Tommy John surgery in June 2017. The Cubs also parted with a player to be named in the deal in exchange for a player to be named.Smyly signed a $10 million, two-year contract with Chicago last December. He was healthy at the end of last season, but the contending Cubs ran out of time in terms of bringing him back.Hamels gives manager Joe Maddon... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs have exercised their 2019 option on left-hander Cole Hamels, solidifying their rotation for next year.Hamels, who turns 35 in December, went 4-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 12 starts after he was acquired in a July 27 trade with Texas. The $20 million option makes Hamels' contract worth $158 million for seven years.Hamels gives manager Joe Maddon a deep group of starting pitchers as the Cubs try for their fifth consecutive playoff appearance. Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana and Yu Darvish also are expected to return, with Mike Montgomery and Tyler Chatwood waiting in the wings.The Cubs also traded left-hander Drew Smyly and a player to be named to the Texas Rangers on Friday for a player to be named.___More AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs exercised their 2019 option on left-handed pitcher Cole Hamels on Friday, solidifying their rotation for next year, and traded left-handed pitcher Drew Smyly and a player to be named later to the Texas Rangers.The $19 million option makes Hamels' contract worth $157 million for seven years. Hamels, who turns 35 in December, went 4-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 12 starts after he was acquired in a July 27 trade with Texas. Had the Cubs declined the option and paid a $6 million buyout, the Rangers would have paid the Cubs an additional $6 million.Hamels gives manager Joe Maddon a deep group of starting pitchers as the Cubs try for their fifth consecutive playoff appearance. Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana and Yu Darvish also are expected to return, with Mike Montgomery and Tyler Chatwood waiting in the wings.Hamels, a former first-round pick, made his major league debut with Philadelphia in 2006. The left-hander is 156-114 with a 3.40 ERA in 13 big league... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — No team in the National League piled up more victories than the Chicago Cubs through 162 games. That seems like small consolation now.Kyle Hendricks gave up a tiebreaking single to Tony Wolters in the 13th inning, sending the Cubs to a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies in a marathon wild-card game on Tuesday night.Chicago lost two home games with a chance to reach the NL Division Series. The Cubs scored a total of two runs over 22 innings, dropping a tiebreaker to Milwaukee for the NL Central championship and then getting knocked out of the playoffs by the Rockies.They squandered a dominant start by Jon Lester, got shut down by Kyle Freeland and wasted several big scoring opportunities. Hendricks came in to retire the final two batters in the 12th and got the first two in the 13th before running into trouble.Trevor Story grounded a single through the left side and Gerardo Parra lined one to right, putting runners at first and third. Wolters — who came into the game as part... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — No team in the National League piled up more victories than the Chicago Cubs through 162 games. That seems like small consolation now.Kyle Hendricks gave up a tiebreaking single to Tony Wolters in the 13th inning, sending the Cubs to a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies in a marathon wild-card loss on Tuesday night.Chicago lost two home games with a chance to reach the NL Division Series. The Cubs scored a total of two runs over 22 innings, dropping a tiebreaker to Milwaukee for the NL Central championship and then getting knocked out of the playoffs by the Rockies.They squandered a dominant start by Jon Lester, got shut down by Kyle Freeland and wasted several big scoring opportunities. Hendricks came in to retire the final two batters in the 12th and got the first two in the 13th before running into trouble.Trevor Story grounded a single through the left side and Gerardo Parra lined one to right, putting runners at first and third. Wolters — who came into the game as part... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies remained one game ahead of Los Angeles as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown. The Dodgers won 3-1 in San Francisco.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night to... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies remained one game ahead of Los Angeles as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown. The Dodgers won 3-1 in San Francisco.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night to... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies remained one game ahead of Los Angeles Dodgers as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown. The Dodgers won 3-1 in San Francisco.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies entered the night with a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night to finish the... [More]

DENVER (AP) — The NL West-leading Colorado Rockies locked up a playoff berth for the second straight season, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2 on Friday night for their eighth win in a row behind a resilient start from Kyle Freeland.David Dahl homered for the fifth consecutive game and Ian Desmond hit a two-run homer against his former team to help Colorado clinch at least a wild card with two games remaining. The Rockies entered the night with a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers as they try to wrap up the franchise's first division crown.Wade Davis struck out Bryce Harper looking to end the game and earn his 43rd save. The sellout crowd at Coors Field roared and fireworks went off.The Rockies are headed to the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in team history. This is their fifth playoff trip since the franchise began in 1993 — last year, they lost to Arizona in the NL wild-card game.Freeland (17-7) wiggled out of jam after jam on a cool night to finish the... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The New York Yankees clinched home-field advantage for the AL wild-card game, hitting four homers to tie the major league single-season record and beat the Boston Red Sox 11-6 on Friday night.Aaron Judge hit his first homer since coming off the disabled list Sept. 14, and Gary Sanchez, Aaron Hicks and Luke Voit also homered to match the mark of 264 set by the 1997 Seattle Mariners.The win in the opener of the three-game series settled the AL's last remaining postseason question with two games to go. The Yankees will host Oakland on Wednesday, with the winner playing Boston.The Red Sox, who clinched the best record in baseball with a franchise-record 107 wins, were hoping to make things difficult for their archrivals — and the Athletics, too — by forcing the winner of the wild-card game have to fly cross-country next week. The ALDS begins in Boston on Friday.J.A. Happ (17-6) pitched three perfect innings and allowed just one hit through five. Staked to an 8-0 lead, he loaded... [More]

CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Hendricks went eight innings in another strong start, Kris Bryant homered and the Chicago Cubs moved closer to the NL Central championship and dealt another hit to St. Louis' playoff hopes, beating the Cardinals 8-4 on Friday.The Cubs came into the final weekend of the regular season with a franchise-record fourth straight trip to the postseason assured and their third division title in a row in sight. They began the day with a one-game lead over Milwaukee, with the Brewers playing Detroit on Friday night.St. Louis dropped its fourth in a row after being swept by Milwaukee. The Cardinals came in trailing Los Angeles by a game for the second wild card, with the Dodgers visiting San Francisco.Hendricks (14-11) gave up two runs and seven hits. He's 5-1 with a 1.52 ERA in his past seven outings.Bryant made it 3-0 with a long solo drive to center against Adam Wainwright (2-4) for just his second homer in 27 games. The 2016 NL MVP sat out the previous two because of a bruised... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Friday:WRIGLEY FIELD SHOWDOWNRight-hander Kyle Hendricks (13-11) starts for the Chicago Cubs in the opener of their big season-ending series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Right-hander Adam Wainwright will be on the mound for the Cardinals. While the Cubs have clinched a postseason berth, they are still in the chase for the NL Central title, holding a one-game lead over Milwaukee. St. Louis, shaken after getting swept in a three-game series at Milwaukee, is one game behind the Dodgers for the NL's second wild card, with Los Angeles one game back of the Brewers. Hendricks is 4-1 with a 1.37 ERA in his last six starts.HEADING UP INTERSTATE 94Milwaukee also has clinched no worse than a wild-card berth and will be sending right-hander Zach Davies (2-7) to the mound against Detroit. The Brewers are 4-8 in his starts, and opposing batters have a robust .267 batting average against him, well above the major league average.MILE HIGHLeft-hander Kyle... [More]

A look at what's happening around the majors on Friday:WRIGLEY FIELD SHOWDOWNRight-hander Kyle Hendricks (13-11) starts for the Chicago Cubs in the opener of their big season-ending series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Right-hander Adam Wainwright will be on the mound for the Cardinals. While the Cubs have clinched a postseason berth, they are still in the chase for the NL Central title, holding a half-game lead over Milwaukee entering play Thursday night. St. Louis, shaken after getting swept in a three-game series at Milwaukee, is one game behind the Dodgers for the NL's second wild card, with Los Angeles one game back of the Brewers. Hendricks is 4-1 with a 1.37 ERA in his last six starts.HEADING UP INTERSTATE 94Milwaukee also has clinched no worse than a wild-card berth and will be sending right-hander Zach Davies (2-7) to the mound against Detroit. The Brewers are 4-8 in his starts, and opposing batters have a robust .267 batting average against him, well above the major league... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius has torn cartilage in his right wrist and is unsure whether he will be able to play in the AL wild-card game on Oct. 3.Gregorius, who has 27 homers and 86 RBIs, got injured Saturday when he slid headfirst on Aaron Hicks' 11th-inning double to score the run that clinched a postseason berth for New York, which disclosed the injury after a 6-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.New York remained 1½ games ahead of Oakland for the top AL wild card. Baltimore (45-110) is one loss shy of matching the franchise record for defeats set by the 1939 St. Louis Browns, who went 43-111.Tim Beckham homered twice for the lowly Orioles, who trailed 3-0 early. Ryan Meisinger (2-0) pitched two perfect innings and Mychal Givens worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his ninth save. A.J. Cole (3-1) was the loser.INDIANS 4, RED SOX 3, 11 INNINGSCLEVELAND (AP) — Greg Allen singled with one out and the bases loaded in the 11th inning and Cleveland denied Boston's bid for... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius has torn cartilage in his right wrist and is unsure whether he will be able to play in the AL wild-card game on Oct. 3.Gregorius, who has 27 homers and 86 RBIs, got injured Saturday when he slid headfirst on Aaron Hicks' 11th-inning double to score the run that clinched a postseason berth for New York, which disclosed the injury after a 6-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.New York remained 1½ games ahead of Oakland for the top AL wild card. Baltimore (45-110) is one loss shy of matching the franchise record for defeats set by the 1939 St. Louis Browns, who went 43-111.Tim Beckham homered twice for the lowly Orioles, who trailed 3-0 early. Ryan Meisinger (2-0) pitched two perfect innings and Mychal Givens worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his ninth save. A.J. Cole (3-1) was the loser.TWINS 5, ATHLETICS 1OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland will have to take its bubbly on the road. Kyle Gibson (9-13) allowed one run over 7 1/3 innings and Jake Cave... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich became the first major leaguer to hit for the cycle twice in one season against the same team, driving in four runs to lead the Milwaukee Brewers over the Cincinnati Reds 8-0 on Monday night.Less than three weeks after his cycle in Cincinnati, the streaking slugger accomplished the feat against the last-place Reds once again to help the Brewers in their playoff pursuit. Milwaukee stayed 2½ games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central and maintained a three-game lead in the wild-card race.Yelich singled in the first inning, doubled in the second, launched a two-run homer in the fifth and completed the cycle with a two-run triple in the sixth. With the Brewers nursing a large lead, he was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the eighth.Yelich's huge second half has turned him into a top contender for the NL MVP award. He also hit for the cycle when he went 6 for 6 in a 13-12 comeback victory on Aug. 29 at Cincinnati, making him the fifth player to... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich became the first major leaguer to hit for the cycle twice in one season against the same team, driving in four runs to lead the Milwaukee Brewers over the Cincinnati Reds 8-0 on Monday night.Less than three weeks after his cycle in Cincinnati, the streaking slugger accomplished the feat against the last-place Reds once again to help the Brewers in their playoff pursuit. Milwaukee began the night 2½ games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs in the NL Central but with a three-game lead in the wild-card race.Yelich singled in the first inning, doubled in the second, launched a two-run homer in the fifth and completed the cycle with a two-run triple in the sixth. With the Brewers nursing a large lead, he was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the eighth.Yelich's huge second half has turned him into a top contender for the NL MVP award. He also hit for the cycle when he went 6 for 6 in a 13-12 comeback victory on Aug. 29 at Cincinnati, making him the fifth player... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Red Sox reached 100 wins for the first time since Ted Williams returned from World War II in the 1946 season, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 1-0 on Wednesday night.David Price (15-6) won his sixth straight decision, allowing three hits and striking out seven. Unbeaten in 11 starts since July 1, Price left after 92 pitches with a lead earned when Rafael Devers scampered home on a wild pitch by Aaron Sanchez (4-6) in the fifth inning.Craig Kimbrel got three outs for his 39th save in 44 chances.A night after becoming the first major league team this year to clinch a playoff spot, Boston won for the 10th time in 14 games and moved a season-high 54 games above .500.Jonathan Davis had his first major league hit for Toronto.TWINS 3, YANKEES 1MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jake Odorizzi's no-hit bid was broken up when Greg Bird hit a run-scoring double with one out in the eighth inning, and Minnesota beat the Yankees to take two of three from New York.The Yankees' lead over Oakland... [More]